On “​t h e . c l i m b . b a c k,” J. Cole talks about rediscovering his love for rap and some of his traumatic life experiences.

Two days before releasing the song, Cole published an essay titled “The Audacity” in which he discussed several critical periods of his life and the persistent obligation to achieve his goals. He specifically utilized the word ‘climb’ to describe how he advanced himself in each of these periods, which can be seen as a prelude to this song.

This and “Lion King on Ice” were intended to be the first two singles from Cole’s seventh studio album, The Fall Off. They were released together as the two-track Lewis Street.

On May 12, 2021, “The Climb Back” was reformatted to “t h e c l i m b b a c k” on streaming services. The following day, it was confirmed that it would now be included as a track on The Off-Season, instead of its original placement on The Fall Off, making it the LP’s lead single. The periods weren’t added to the title until the album’s release.